U. S. Soldiers Home, Washington: during a century of travel (well 78 years!) both in and out of service I have travelled to over 150 countries (I count both North and South Dakota as countries) and for some reason have jotted signs and happenings that I thought funny at the time (and now wonder why). So here is the perfect opportunity to share some of my anecdotes.

Indian newspaper had an ad for a men’s tailor: “Clothier to the male ego.”

One traveller to save weight and space carries only three black socks. Not three pair of black socks but three individual black socks and washes one sock out each night. (Ok so it is me!)

Instead of buying new clothes and shoes to travel some people wear their old clothes they have broken in and when they get dirty take them to one of the many reasonable tailors in India, Penang, Thailand etc and have duplicated or design their own travel clothes. In India I had them make trousers with many pockets, hidden pockets, a strap in the back so trousers could be hung on a nail. I was in Safari phase then so had shirts made out of same material again with lots of pockets.

I met an Australian that became native fifteen minutes after arrival in India. He had flimsy white cotton trousers and shirt made and shaved his head like a monk. I wore a diaper and carried a begging bowl. We both said we did not know the other. I used to joke that Air India in economy did not serve food. They gave you a begging bowl and you had to go to First class and beg for food.

One guy took a suit he liked but had a cigarette hole in it to Hong Kong to have duplicated. They did right down to the cigarette hole. I lie a lot.

One time, just before I got off the plane at Tokyo airport, I ripped the back of my pants and my rear end was exposed. I did not have an extra pair of trousers with me in the plane and I did not want to go through passport control etc with my rear exposed for fear they would not let me in the country so although it was a very hot sweltering day I put on my raincoat to hide my rear end. I got some strange looks but was not stopped. I since always carry an extra pair of trousers in the cabin of the plane with me. I think I had had the trousers made in Hong Kong and if they use Chinese thread they rip easily. Take American thread with you if having clothes made in Hong Kong. And hope they use it. I had shoes made in Hong Kong and walking down the street the soles fell off. When I went to a cobbler he told me the soles had been glued on and the heat undid the glue.

Digressing somewhat, on a trip to South Africa I was made an honorary member of both MOTH and COMRADES clubs. Both are veteran’s organizations. The MOTH club in Johannesburg is near train station. MOTH stands for Military Order of Tin Hats, which started in World War I. Smaller clubs of MOTHs are called Shellholes and their commander (no matter what his name) is always called Old Bill.

In India I was made an honorary Sikh. A Sikh Lt Colonel (a lawyer) in the Indian Army introduced me to the five Ks of Sikhdom. A Sikh and I think most of them have Singh for part of their name meaning lion has five marks of a Sikh all beginning with letter K. The five Kikars. Kish, long uncut hair that they never cut worn under a turban. Kanka, the wooden small comb. Kackkor, long modest boxer like shorts. Kara, the steel bracelet and Karpan, a small ceremonial sword. As my hair was short I guess I was only 4/5 of an honorary Sikh.

A Captain in the Indian Army brought five yards of material, which is what it takes for a turban, and wound it very tight around my head so it would not come undone before I got back to the States. Although Sikhs can and do wear turbans in the Army, he did not wear one. The Sikhs seemed to be on the same wavelength as me especially the ones in the military and they were a good source of information for me.

I asked if Indians would be insulted if they saw me wearing a turban in Amritsar (I don’t usually go native.) I was told they would not even notice and would not be insulted. It was easier to wear than to carry back to my hotel. There were few places selling beer but I found one and the bar tender told me he had seen me wearing the turban on the street and had prevented others from throwing stones at me. Joking! He said I looked very handsome in the turban. He knew how to get a tip.

No matter where you ask a rickshaw driver in Amritsar to take you they take you to the Golden Temple. Actually I wanted to go to a circus I spotted. The showgirls in the circus were completely covered in what looked like winter underwear: long johns. The circus did not have much, but it had a rhinoceros. He did not do much. It cost me $3.60 for the cloth for the turban. I don’t know where it is now.

I went to visit Indiri Ghandi’s (former leader of India) home, now a museum. She was Nehru’s daughter and no relation to Mahatma Ghandi. She had married a man named Ghandi. This was in Delhi. Indiri Ghandi had sent in troops to quell a riot at Golden Temple in Amritsar and a Sikh (not me) assassinated her as she was walking in the garden of her home. He was one of her disloyal guards. There were signs in the garden as to what you could not do such as no spitting. At the Golden Temple in Amritsar Sikhs immerse themselves in the water moat surrounding the temple. There were many memorial plaques to soldiers at the Golden Temple complex such as “In memory of those brave soldiers killed in action in 1965.” The Poona Horse Regiment with deep reverence and loving gratitude from the Bengal Snappers Bengal Engineer Group Centre Boorhee 1978. Lt Col H. S. Samedhi and all ranks.

Next month, Mac discusses Hong Kong.

If you would like to contact Mac, he can be e-mailed on: macsan400@yahoo.com

Globetrotters meeting on August 9th

The Texas Branch of the Globetrotters Club will meet August 9th 2003 at the New Braunfels Public Library – note back to old location.

If you like independent, adventuresome, fun, daring, exciting, “off the beaten path” travel, this club is for you. Our meeting begins at 2 P.M. Come early so you won't be late! Enjoy handouts, travel talk time, and door prizes!

Dates of future meetings: September 13

For more information about the Texas Branch or if you would like to help Christina, please contact texas@globetrotters.co.uk or register for email updates at our website (click here) or call Christina at 830-620-5482.

The Beetle recently visited Munich for shell repairing and discovered that it is a really nice, friendly, pretty and interesting city, easy to get around with some surprising touches – beautiful architecture, outdoor markets, fountains and sculptures.

How to get there: the airport at Munich is vast and well served. From London you can take Lufthansa and British Airways. It’s a short hop – around 1 ¾ hours. To get into the city centre, there are two S-Bahns – the slow one, the S1 and the faster S8. Either journey takes less than an hour. Tickets costs 9 euros and can be used on your next journey to complete your destination, e.g. the bus. You can buy tickets on the platform or from the airport information counter. The S-Bahns are excellent, cheap, clean, completely safe and frequent. Both go directly from the airport via many stations around the city to the central train station where you can make your connection with one of the other many S and U-Bahns.

When to go: well, the Octoberfest jumps out as a good time to visit Munich, which takes place over four weekends in September/October. Otherwise, any time, although July is very, very hot! There are good Christmas markets in November and December. There is almost always a large festival taking place in Munich during any given month.

What is there to see and do: lots and lots. You can stay in the city centre and easily spend a weekend prowling around the baroque churches, museums, art galleries, the town hall, theatres, outdoor fresh produce market, the Residenz, botanical gardens, the Olympic stadium and the English Gardens. One of the oddest sights was muscle-bound tanned men surfing on an artificially made wave of the Eisbach, about 5m wide in the English Garden. For major label shopping, all of the posh shops are rather conveniently concentrated on one street, Maximillian Strasse, otherwise, there’s plenty of high street shopping to do around Marienplaz and some wonderful off beat shops in Munich’s back streets.

Is there more to do than just a weekend? If you want! You can take self guided walking tours around the city, or join one of many walking tours, run in many different languages, or alternatively, there are a variety of day trips that you can do, solo or in an organised group, including one to Dachau, one of many Bavarian palaces, or even the Alps.

Food and Drink? Large portions seem to be the norm. If you like pork, you’ll be very happy here. There is a wide range of restaurants from the usual fast food outlets to upmarket French, Italian, Thai and local Bavarian speciality restaurants. The Hofbrauhaus may be a little touristy, but it’s well worth a visit for a beer and some local food if you are strolling around the English Garden.

Prices? Eating out is generally very reasonably priced, but hotels can be a little pricey. Search on the internet first and contact the tourism agency.

Language: don’t worry if you don’t speak German, a few basic words go a long way, but most people you will encounter speak some English, and menus written in English are widely available.

The UK Foreign Office has asked British tour operators to stop arranging holidays to Burma because of the ruling regime's record on human rights.

In a letter to ABTA, the Association of British Tour Agents, the UK’s Foreign Office minister, said that there were “compelling reasons” not to holiday in Burma.

He cited the use of forced labour by the Burmese Junta, who have been used to help build some of Burma’s tourism infrastructure and that some communities have been forcibly relocated to make way for tourism-related developments.

Recently, the military regime stepped up its actions against democracy groups in a campaign of violence and intimidation and has arrested the democratically elected Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy.

ABTA in its turn said that it left commercial and moral decisions on holiday destinations to its members: “It's up to our members to make that decision,” said an ABTA official. “It would be different if the Foreign Office were advising people not to go to Burma because it was dangerous.”

The Globetrotters e-news recently reported that award winning Kuoni, has withdrawn from Burma following the lobbying of Burma Campaign UK.

Do you have a view? Would you travel to Burma, or would boycott it? Write in and tell the Beetle your views: beetle@globetrotters.co.uk

Padmassana went travelling around Kyushu in June/July time. Here is the second of three extracts from his travel journal.

I left Beppu in more torrents of rain after a night of storms and went to Miyazaki. Miyazaki was a staging post on the way to Kagoshima and is famous for the Haniwa figures, clay statues that were found in burial mounds, similar to the Xian terracotta warriors. These were all items the Shogun would need to take with him to the other world. Some are funny, some threatening, some are mysterious, and include boats, carriages and horses. I found a local moggie asleep in one of the carriages, taking shelter from the rain!

After finding my nice hotel I decided to go to Heidawa Park and promptly got lost. There is a Peace Tower in he park, built in 1940. It started to hail so I ended up sheltering under a bridge. There was a Mini Mart near by so I went in for a sausage on a stick and found I was actually very near the park.

From Miyazaki, I did the 2 hour ride down to Kagoshima. I was immediately impressed with Kagoshima – it is a lovely city, has a very nice Ryokan, a KFC and a McDonalds all within a short walk, so I wont be starving!

It’s now lovely and warm and the sun occasionally comes out. The Nakazono Ryokan in Kagoshima was superb, tatami mat floor with futon. The owner is very knowledgeable about the city, such as knowing where the free internet cafes are and says the weather is going to be good for the next few days! Had lunch by the port looking towards the volcano Sakurajima.

I took the 24 hour ferry from Kagoshima, a 5 minute boat trip ($3.50, £2 return) across the sea between Sakurajima and the volcano. Once there, you take the tour bus that picks you up from where the ferry docks. It runs twice a day and costs 1,700 Yen, about £10 or $15. I did a tour, 10 Japanese people and me! The guide didn’t speak any English so she gave me a book with numbers. She would be gabbling away in Japanese, then she’d shout “Number 21” and I’d read the book while trying to look out of the window! Really enjoyed the island, where I saw all the different layers of lava and the lava fields which you can see from the viewing platforms is in wave shapes. The tour includes a village that has been buried and a ceramics workshop where you can buy pottery glazed with volcanic ash.

I also went to Ibusuki to try out sand bathing. You go upstairs, pay 900 yen about £6, and are given a big cotton bath robe and walk across the beach which is so hot on the feet to lie down in a body shaped hole already dug. You are then covered in this volcanic steaming sand for 20 minutes. After this, you feel nice and warm, but don’t do as I did and go and wash your toes in the sea, because it is too hot! Instead you wash yourself off under the tap carefully placed for visitors to clean off. It is supposed to be good for you!

If you would like to contact Padmassana to ask him about his time in Japan, he can be e-mailed on: Padmassana. A good web resource, says Padmassana is: http://www.seejapan.co.uk/fseedo.html

1. Tokyo, Japan

2. Osaka, Japan

3. Oslo, Norway

4. Hong Kong

5. Libreville, Gabon

London came 7^th in the list.

Source: http://www.aneki.com/lists.html

Tanzania has a multi-ethnic and multi-racial population that practices a wide variety of traditions and customs. In Mikindani, the influence of Shirazi Arabs from Persia and traders from the Indian subcontinent combined with the movement and mixture of different ethnic African groups have complemented each other to form a rich cultural heritage. This is something that is not always evident as people go about their daily tasks with invidious alacrity, but on joyous or sorrowful occasions such as weddings and funerals one realises how deep and fascinating the culture here actually is.

One of the most significant differences to European culture is how the concept of extended families and kinship works to benefit the people of Mikindani. It is common to find people living with and depending upon distant relations (“this is my brother’s wife’s uncle etc.), and kin ties through ones parents or by marriage appear to define one's rights, obligations, and opportunities. For example, educated members of the extended family are frequently held responsible for the education and welfare of younger siblings. This concept is a source of strength for the people of Mikindani, and provides a sense of belonging and togetherness that is lacking in our own society.

It is often the case that, in the face of a limited presence of science and technology, an individual person in Africa cannot achieve much without enlisting the support and efforts of others. In most aspects of Mikindani life, the role of men and women is vastly different. There is a clear and ingrained streak of gender inequality, which has dampened the potential, but definitely not the spirits, of the younger women here. Despite this, women remain by far the more jovial and animated members of the community, going about things with a grace, good humour, vigour and vitality that says much about the way in which they share their tasks.

At home, the women work so smoothly and quietly that when you are around, you sometimes wonder how water had arrived, the fire was started, or how the food materialised. Regardless of religion, it is rare to see men and women walking together, and almost non-existent to see a couple holding hands or making displays of affection.

Walking around the dusty back streets of Mikindani, it is possible to see groups of old men playing bao, women plaiting each others hair and younger girls skipping with a piece of twine. It is, however, the talking, shouting and singing that catches my attention. A typical Swahili conversation begins with multiple greetings followed by general banter; often these discourses are held purely for enjoyment rather than purpose. Here, talk, as pure entertainment is the equivalent of the Western vices of television and games consoles.

In Swahili society, much of the knowledge is shared and passed down to descendants encoded in stories, poetry and songs. This is the literature, art, law and science of Mikindani; the libraries and museums are in peoples’ heads. The Swahili language has proven to be a unifying factor in Tanzania, uniting more than one hundred different ethnic groups and forging a common identity. There is, however, a second language spoken in Mikindani – the tribal dialect of Kimakonde. The Makonde people represent one of the five largest ethnic groups in Tanzania, with a population of around one million. The tribe originated in Northern Mozambique, from where people migrated to the higher lands of the Makonde plateau (120km inland from Mikindani).

Many people in Mikindani still use Makonde, and the Makonde culture remains an enormous influence upon the traditions, customs and lifestyles of much of the local population. It is, however, their excellent woodcarvings for which the Makonde are internationally renowned. The skill is passed through the generations from father to son and some carvings provide an insight into the culture of the artists. Inland, many Makonde still practice their traditional religion even though they have been in contact with Muslim traders for hundreds of years. Their religion centres around the veneration of their ancestors, which ties in with the family tree carvings that depict the older generation on the bottom symbolically supporting later generations.

Today, the culture of Mikindani is changing faster than ever. Western influences upon such things as fashion and music are increasingly obvious. In particular, many young men are frustrated, it seems, with the limitations of their grandparents’ culture. The poverty trap and the phenomenon of Americanisation have hit each other head on. Younger children whose parents can barely even afford to buy them a pair of flip-flops draw global brands such as the Nike tick on the walls and doors of houses. Despite this, there is still a strong bond between the people and their cultural heritage; hopefully, as living standards improve and development takes place, that will always remain the same

The UK charity Trade Aid was founded in 1996 by a group of people headed by Brian Currie, a Salisbury businessman. The aim of the charity it to create sustainable employment in a village called Mikindani, a deprived and desperately poor part of Tanzania. The first phase of the project is complete – the renovation of a badly decayed but very beautiful German fort, situated on the side of a hill and overlooking the spectacular Mikindani Lagoon. The Boma, as it is called is now open as a 6 bedroom, country-house hotel. All the staff are Tanzanian nationals and most are local people from Mikindani and Mtwara, the local town. All of the rooms have been lovingly decorated and fitted out by local craftsmen. It’s an easy flight down to the south of Tanzania from Dar es Salaam, and the Beetle can vouch for the hospitality and effort that has gone into creating and running the Boma.

For more information on the work carried out by Trade Aid in Tanzania, see their website www.mikindani.com